Peter Collins was a British Formula One driver with his highest finish of third in the 1956 Drivers’ Championship and three Grand Prix wins during his career: two in 1956 and one in 1958. He became the third British driver to win the British Grand Prix in 1958 but tragically lost his life at the following race, the 1958 German Grand Prix, after an accident on Lap 11, becoming the second of three drivers to die that year.
| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter John Collins 6 November 1931 Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England |
| Died | 3 August 1958 (aged 26) Bonn, Germany |
Collins made a lacklustre F1 debut at the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix with HWN when his race ended after 12 laps. His season-best finish was sixth in the 1952 French Grand Prix. In 1953, his season didn’t see much more success as Collins continued with the HWM team, only able to claim two finishes with two retirements.
In 1954, Collins drove for Tony Vandervell’s Vanwall team. He competed in the 1954 British Grand Prix, retiring on lap 16 due to engine failure, and finished 7th in the 1954 Italian Grand Prix. For the 1955 season, Collins raced for Maserati in two Grand Prix, but both races ended in retirement. He retired after 28 laps in the 1955 British Grand Prix and after 22 laps in the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
Collins joined Ferrari for the 1956 season and achieved his first Formula One victory at the 1956 Belgian Grand Prix. A month later, he secured another win in France and led the championship by 5 points over Jean Behra. However, a challenging weekend in Germany, where his Ferrari suffered a fuel leak and he crashed in a shared car, saw Juan Manuel Fangio overtake him to win the title. Collins finished third in the championship.
Collins had a moderate season in 1957, scoring points in the French, British, and German Grands Prix while racing for Ferrari before Collins entered his final season in 1958 with two retirements in the first three races. His last victory, points, and podium came at the 1958 British Grand Prix, making him the first British F1 driver to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. However, the next race would be his last.
At the 1958 German Grand Prix, Collins was chasing Tony Brooks in a Vanwall when he lost control into the Pflanzgarten section at the Nurburgring, hit a ditch, and his car flipped, landing upside-down and bursting into flames. Collins was thrown from the car but sustained fatal head injuries after hitting a tree. His death followed the loss of Italian Luigi Musso at the 1958 French Grand Prix the previous month. The third fatality of the season was Vanwall driver Stuart Lewis-Evans at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix. These tragedies cast a shadow over the season, leading World Champion Mike Hawthorn to retire, disturbed by the deaths, including that of Collins. Hawthorn himself died in a road crash in January 1959. Peter Collins is buried in Worcestershire.
Peter Collins Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1952–1958 |
|---|---|
| Teams | HWM, Vanwall, BRM, Maserati, Ferrari |
| Entries | 35 (32 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Career points | 47 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1952 Swiss Grand Prix |
| First win | 1956 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1958 British Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1958 German Grand Prix |
Peter Collins Teammates
| 25 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Abecassis | 1 | 1952 | |
| Stirling Moss | 1 | 1952 | |
| Lance Macklin | 9 | 1952 | 1953 |
| Paul Frere | 4 | 1952 | 1956 |
| Roger Laurent | 1 | 1952 | |
| Yves Giraud-Cabantous | 2 | 1952 | 1953 |
| Duncan Hamilton | 2 | 1952 | 1953 |
| Johnny Claes | 1 | 1952 | |
| Jack Fairman | 1 | 1953 | |
| Carlos Menditeguy | 1 | 1955 | |
| Horace Gould | 1 | 1955 | |
| Jean Behra | 1 | 1955 | |
| Luigi Musso | 15 | 1955 | 1958 |
| Roberto Mieres | 1 | 1955 | |
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 7 | 1956 | |
| Eugenio Castellotti | 8 | 1956 | 1957 |
| Olivier Gendebien | 4 | 1956 | 1958 |
| André Pilette | 1 | 1956 | |
| Alfonso de Portago | 5 | 1956 | 1957 |
| Wolfgang von Trips | 9 | 1956 | 1958 |
| Mike Hawthorn | 13 | 1957 | 1958 |
| Cesare Perdisa | 1 | 1957 | |
| José Froilán González | 1 | 1957 | |
| Maurice Trintignant | 4 | 1957 | |
| Phil Hill | 1 | 1958 |
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1953 | Scuderia Ferrari | HWM-Alta | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1954 | G A Vandervell | Vanwall | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1955 | Owen Racing Organisation Officine Alfieri Maserati | BRM Maserati | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 25 | 3rd | Report |
| 1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 8 | 9th | Report |
| 1958 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 14 | 5th | Report |
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1956 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1956 French Grand Prix |
| 3 | 1958 British Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One results
Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | HW Motors | HWM 52 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | SUI Ret | 500 | BEL Ret | FRA 6 | GBR Ret | GER DNS | NED | ITA DNQ | NC | 0 | |||
| 1953 | HW Motors | HWM 53 | Alta GP 2.5 L4 | ARG | 500 | NED 8 | BEL Ret | FRA 13 | GBR Ret | GER | SUI | ITA | NC | 0 | ||
| 1954 | Vandervell Products | Vanwall Special | Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 | ARG | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR Ret | GER | SUI | ITA 7 | ESP DNS | NC | 0 | ||
| 1955 | Owen Racing Organisation | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | ARG | MON | 500 | BEL | NED | GBR Ret | NC | 0 | |||||
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | ITA Ret | |||||||||||||||
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 555 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | ARG Ret | 3rd | 25 | ||||||||||
| Lancia–Ferrari D50 | Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 | MON 2* | 500 | BEL 1 | FRA 1 | GBR 2* | GER Ret* | ITA 2* | ||||||||
| 1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Lancia–Ferrari D50 | Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 | ARG 6* | 9th | 8 | ||||||||||
| Ferrari 801 | MON Ret | 500 | FRA 3 | GBR 4* | GER 3 | PES | ITA Ret | |||||||||
| 1958 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 246 | Ferrari 143 2.4 V6 | ARG Ret | MON 3 | NED Ret | 500 | BEL Ret | FRA 5 | GBR 1 | GER Ret | POR | ITA | MOR | 5th | 14 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com, fandom.com, and statsf1.com
